Not left vs. right, but authority vs. liberty
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Give me Liberty
Rodger Williamson
Two weeks ago, on April 7, CNN published an editorial written by Nicole Hemmer, stating that the “right-wing children’s entertainment complex is upon us.”
The leading example she cited was the “Tuttle Twins” children’s books, written by Connor Boyack, that aim to counter the left-leaning indoctrination that many children now face in classrooms across this nation.
Selling more than 3-and-a-half million copies, the Tuttle Twins books address libertarian themes related to individual freedom, limited government, free markets, and entrepreneurship, often highlighting the work of great thinkers such as French economist and writer, Claude-Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850); Austrian born economist, legal theorist and philosopher Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992); Austrian born economist, historian, logician, and sociologist Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973); and American born Leonard Reed (1898-1983), the founder of The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE).
Nicole Hemmer is a researcher at Columbia University with the Obama Presidency Oral History Project. In her CNN piece, Hemmer wrote that “The goal is to seal conservatives’ children off from a broader culture, to protect them from supposed liberal indoctrination by getting a head start on conservative indoctrination.”
I, as the writer of this piece, find Hemmer’s conclusions laughable, as the Tuttle Twins series addresses Libertarian core beliefs, the same beliefs established by the founders of our nation, things like liberty, freedom, limited government, and individual responsibility.
If Hemmer were to have ever bothered to ask any Libertarian if they considered themselves “conservatives,” or if they sided with the conservative ideology of Republicans, I can assure you that most Libertarians will find fault equally with both the Republicans and the Democrats, or with both the conservatives, as well as the liberals.
While some Libertarians may agree with one or the other on certain points, they will also disagree with both political bents on many points, often pointing out the similarities in the authoritarian stances embraced by both Republicans and Democrats to limit the personal choices and freedoms of individual persons.
Tuttle Twins writer Conner Boyack himself smiled when he read Hemmer’s article. He is on record as stating that, “I find it humorous that those in the left-dominated media are wringing their hands about a few of us doing what they have long been doing.” Boyack further added that, “the progressive mob has long been infiltrating and leveraging pop culture, the school system and entertainment outlets – and suddenly they’re outraged when we’re providing a counter message to their myopic, woke worldview? They’re clearly crocodile tears – faux outrage over something the ‘left’ has long been up to (for a long time now.)”
Boyack stated that “It turns out that parents everywhere have been seeking educational materials for their children that will provide a different perspective than what most children in public schools tend to receive.”
However, Boyack welcomes any and all criticism from left-leaning media sites, as that in turn will sell even more Tuttle Twins books.
When the magazine “Current Affairs” made similar comments in late 2020, Boyack’s sales soared. Using special promotional codes to track sales, Boyack sold more than 12,000 additional Tuttle Twins books as a result from just the “Current Affairs” piece.
Boyack added that the CNN article was directly responsible for helping sell more than 23,000 books in just a few days, nearly doubling the sales generated by the first “Current Affairs” article.
Boyack also said that “these efforts to criticize our work only encourage fence-sitters and curious onlookers to take action, to buy the books, and see for themselves what all the fuss is about,” and then added that, “our haters make for the greatest sales force I’ve ever found. If anyone else wants to attack our work and criticize the Tuttle Twins books, I’d really appreciate it.”
It has become increasingly evident in recent times that a left-wing political view of the world has been instilled among the youth of our public school systems. In recent years, many courses and companies have become openly politicized, but this is not a new phenomenon.
“This is a multi-faceted problem that’s been festering and growing for decades,” says Bonnie Kerrigan Snyder, the author of “Undoctrinate: How Politicized Classrooms Harm Kids and Ruin Our Schools – and What We Can Do About It.”
In a recent podcast, Snyder argued that students who may disagree with the mainstream narrative of progressive culture must engage in self-censorship and self-silence from the K-12 grades and further into their collegiate courses.
Snyder added that “teacher education programs are similarly skewed, often tying a student-teacher’s academic achievement to left-leaning political activism.”
Books such as Tuttle Twins, along with a full range of Boyack educational materials for young people of all ages, provide a cultural balance. It helps children and adolescents understand different perspectives and social visions.
“Parents need to recognize that we’re in an ideological war and that our children’s minds are ground zero for today’s battle,” Boyack said. “And if parents don’t recognize that this war is happening, they by default are going to lose.”
Boyack continued stating that “once we’re engaged in the fight, it’s not enough to simply play defense – to screen the content our kids watch, shelter them from the crazies, put parental blocks on their devices, and hope for the best; we have to go on the offense. We have to be intentional about exposing our children to sound ideas, true facts and a worldview grounded in reality and principle. That’s how we win. That’s why the Tuttle Twins books and cartoon series exist – to help parents give their kids a foundational understanding of the ideas of a free society.”
As more and more parents become aware of the ideas their children are constantly exposed to, and how they often conflict with the principles of a free society, they are keen to consume content that offers another perspective. Media such as CNN may be opposed to such content, but their opposition is good for business. “Thanks, CNN!” Boyack said.
If you’re reading this piece, you’re probably above the age demographics that the Tuttle Twins books are intended for, but I highly encourage you to check them out and consider buying them for your young children or grandchildren. I did, and my 2-year-old grandson will learn to read while reading the Tuttle Twins books that my wife and I bought for him.
